State To Drop Charges Against Village Leader

December 21, 1990|By Joseph Sjostrom.

The Illinois attorney general has decided to drop criminal charges of perjury, official misconduct and conflict of interest against Jeri Sullivan, former mayor of Glendale Heights, according to her attorney.

Sullivan has already pleaded guilty to failure to file a state income tax return for 1985. But at a hearing Thursday in Du Page County Circuit Court, her lawyer, James S. Montana Jr., said the attorney general`s office has agreed both verbally and in writing to drop the remaining charges.

Assistant Attorneys General Joseph Ponsetto and Edward Carter, who are prosecuting Sullivan, did not confirm or deny Montana`s assertions in court. After the hearing Ponsetto declined to answer any questions about the case or to offer any explanation of why he would drop the remaining charges.

Montana argued during the hearing that Sullivan should not be sentenced to jail on the tax charge because in the mid-1980s she suffered a series of traumatic family problems.

``Her son had problems with respect to drugs. Her daughter became pregnant out of wedlock. She had marital problems with her husband,`` Montana said.

Sullivan`s state tax bill for 1985 came to only about $100, he said.

``Given the circumstances and turmoil in her life, (the failure to file a tax return for 1985) was understandable,`` he said.

The attorney general is prosecutor in the case instead of Du Page County State`s Atty. James E. Ryan. The case would be a potential conflict of interest for Ryan because Sullivan was active in the last campaign for state`s attorney.

Sullivan was village president from 1981 to 1989. The charges stem from her handling of two developments in the village during that time, a golf course and a shopping center, both involving Wheaton developer Vincent Solano. Sullivan`s husband, James, was employed by Solano, and a job had allegedly been promised to her at a time when the village was giving favorable consideration to the projects.

James Sullivan pleaded guilty in June to failure to file state income tax returns. He was sentenced to 60 days of overnight jail and fined $400.

Du Page County Circuit Judge Edward Kowal, who presides over Sullivan`s case, scheduled her sentencing on the one tax charge for Dec 27.

At Thursday`s hearing, Carter argued that Sullivan should be sentenced to some time in jail.

A sentence of probation would ``deprecate the seriousness of the offense,`` Carter argued.

``The defendant was the village president of Glendale Heights, an elected position, for which she was paid by the taxpayers,`` Carter said.

He noted that Sullivan contends she left tax matters up to her husband, but that she knew her husband was experiencing a drinking problem at the time.